Premises Networking Device User Interface and Method of Operation
A premises networking device includes hardware components including speakers, microphone, infrared sensor, spectrum analyzer and wireless interfaces. A touch screen display presents a user interface that provides information about network conditions and configuration settings and a menu for setting and changing configuration settings. Different versions of the user interface are displayed based on whether a user is in proximity to the device. The user interface includes shapes representing user devices, the visual characteristics of which change based on the current network conditions. A health score, which is an evaluation of network performance based on measurements of aspects of the conditions of the network, is displayed in real time. A network management system includes a network management platform for storing network conditions and configuration information and pushing the information to premises networking devices. An application programming interface allows third-party applications to send instructions to and access data from various system processes.
1 . A premises networking device for maintaining a local area network for a premises, the device comprising:
a display,
a controller generating a user interface presented on the display, the user interface including graphical elements, which are representations of devices on the local area network, wherein variations in visual characteristics of the graphical elements correspond to conditions of the local area network maintained by the premises networking device.
2 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the display is a touchscreen display.
3 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the graphical elements are shapes resembling bubbles.
4 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the graphical elements are displayed in animation.
5 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein unique identifiers associated with the devices represented by the graphical elements are displayed with the graphical elements.
6 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein icons representing the types of devices represented by the graphical elements are displayed with the graphical elements.
7 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the sizes of the graphical elements are based on the amount of data transmitted across the local area network to or from the devices.
8 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the graphical elements are displayed in different hues based on the connection status of the devices.
9 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the graphical elements are displayed with different levels of brightness based on the signal strength of wireless signals sent between the devices and the premises networking device.
10 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a score based on the conditions of the local area network is displayed with the graphical elements.
11 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein detailed device information is displayed in response to a user selecting graphical elements.
12 . A method for providing information concerning conditions of a local area network, the method comprising:
displaying a graphical user interface on a device;
displaying graphical elements in the graphical user interface; and
changing visual characteristics of the graphical elements in response to changes in the conditions of the local area network.
13 . The method as claimed in claim 12 , further comprising displaying the graphical user interface on a touchscreen display.
14 . The method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the graphical elements are shapes resembling bubbles.
15 . The method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the graphical elements are displayed in animation.
16 . The method as claimed in claim 12 , further comprising displaying unique identifiers associated with the devices represented by the graphical elements.
17 . The method as claimed in claim 12 , further comprising displaying icons representing the types of devices represented by the graphical elements with the graphical elements.
18 . The method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the sizes of the graphical elements are based on the amount of data transmitted across the local area network to or from the devices.
19 . The method as claimed in claim 12 , further comprising displaying the graphical elements in different hues based on the connection status of the devices.
20 . The method as claimed in claim 12 , further comprising displaying the graphical elements with different levels of brightness based on the signal strength of wireless signals sent between the devices and the premises networking device.
21 . The method as claimed in claim 12 , further comprising displaying a score based on the conditions of the local area network with the graphical elements.
22 . The method as claimed in claim 12 , further comprising displaying detailed device information in response to a user selecting graphical elements.